Residents to decide residency rule

A proposed change to the Springfield town charter would give the Select Board flexibility when it hires the next town manager. The revision would alter the iron- clad residency requirement for the manager, leaving it up to the board to decide whether it’s a requirement.

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Residents to decide residency rule Rutland Herald | February 08, 2017 By SUSAN SMALLHEER STAFF WRITER Town Manager Tom Yennerell outside the Springfield Municipal Building. LEN EMERY FILE PHOTO Town Manager Tom Yennerell outside the Springfield Municipal Building. LEN EMERY FILE PHOTO SPRINGFIELD — A proposed change to the Springfield town charter would give the Select Board flexibility when it hires the next town manager. The revision would alter the iron- clad residency requirement for the manager, leaving it up to the board to decide whether it’s a requirement. Residents will vote at Town Meeting whether to adopt the revised charter, which if passed would go to the Legislature for final approval. The last time the town’s charter was revised was 1985. Selectman George McNaughton said while he supported the change, he wasn’t sure townspeople would. Members of the Charter Revision Committee who were present Monday night for the final hearing on the changes said they wanted to give the Select Board more leeway. Times have changed, members said, and twocareer families aren’t always able to move. But by building it in as an option, committee members said, the board would be able to hire the best candidate. Town Manager Tom Yennerell, who was hired two years ago to replace longtime Town Manager Bob Forguites — who is now a state representative — had to move to Springfield from Lebanon, New Hampshire, once he was hired. Yennerell said the proposed change does not remove the residency requirement from the charter, but gives the Select Board the power to waive it. He said the residency requirement was “extremely unusual” in current times. “It limits your pool of qualified candidates,” he said, noting the change in the charter language was “a huge improvement.” “I understand the reasoning,” McNaughton said. “I question how popular it’s going to be with residents.” The charter requires that the town manager become a Vermont resident within six months, as well. “The world has changed in the last 32 years,” said Charter Committee member Richard Andrews, referring to the last time the charter was revised. “Travel and communication have improved.” “I think the public is less concerned than they once were,” Andrews said. Voters, he said, are more concerned about the town having the “widest possible pool of candidates.” Chairman Kristi Morris said some current employees are not town residents. “I’m not sure what public opinion should be,” he said. McNaughton said Vermont law prohibits school districts from requiring teachers to live in the communities where they teach.